Matthew 9:27 Commentary and Bible Study

(Synoptics: Matthew 9:27-31) One miracle created a longing for another. In more general terms, the blessing of God on one person makes others long for their own needs to be supplied. Matthew links the raising of Jairus’ daughter with the urgent petition of Christ by these two blind men. They followed him, having certainly heard what was reported about the little girl restored to life. They were perhaps slowed down by their blindness, and may have worried that he would get away from them in the crowd, so they cried out, not ashamed to openly confess their great need. They knew their blindness was a handicap and did not pretend otherwise, and they longed to be able to see. Maybe they had previously seen and had lost their sight; the text does not say they were born blind. Sight is such a wonderful gift of God, and the lack of it is such a disadvantage. How amazing that God has given us a facility to know the fine detail of the world around us without even touching it, to be able to appreciate the beauty of its objects, to operate in the physical world and manipulate it according to our whim, to see and recognise many things including the face of those we love, to avoid pitfalls and dangers: this list of advantages is very great.But what did they want from him and how did they regard him? We know that many came to Christ with an inadequate sense of need: they only sought healing for the body and were oblivious to the needs of the soul, which in comparison are far greater. Christ rejoiced to see the needy coming to him for help which only he could give, for that is why he came into the world, but when people came without any understanding of their spiritual need he was disappointed. Only one of ten lepers who were healed returned to give thanks (Luke 17). The one that returned came back because he had a spiritual appreciation of what Christ had done for him and of who Christ was. How did these two blind men regard him? They call him Son of David, a title which all knew belonged to the Messiah. It showed their belief in God’s promise to David that a descendant would come from him who would sit on his throne forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13), the same one who would fulfil the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and before them to Adam (Genesis 3:15). This one would be more than a mortal man, for death ends the reign of every earthly king (Acts 2:29), but if this King, the Messiah, would reign forever, then he would triumph over death itself (Acts 2:30-36). How much of this they understood is not clear, but they believed he was the Messiah. They also asked for mercy which in context meant that they were asking for Christ to restore their sight.